I’m Keeping SolarWakeup Private. If you missed the fun yesterday, Elon announced via tweet that he is thinking about taking Tesla private. The talking heads quickly went to SEC violations, Elon’s desire to burn short traders, or the ability for Elon to pull it off. But when you combine the shorts in the stock, the accounting nightmare that solar can cause to GAAP accounting and what Jim Cramer says about Vivint Solar makes you realize that Tesla would be much better off as a private company. Changing the world is hard and takes time, time that Tesla’s investors are willing to let the company have.
Talking Solar In Politics. I like all my interviews, but talking to Jon Carson was a personal high for me. Jon is now leading a solar development firm, Trajectory Energy Partners, which made the interview relevant for our audience. But prior to solar Jon helped elect Barack Obama to the White House and that’s a story I wanted to hear. Aside from his solar development tactics, which were great, I asked Jon about how solar plays at the highest levels of DC politics. Check out the interview here.
Maryland Forward Motion. Frank gives you some details about yet another pilot project in Maryland. Solar could be so much bigger than it is and yet Maryland still struggles with its politics that tries to play the middle. It’s time for the legislature to act on strong policies that enable a sustainable solar market which will lower the costs of energy for consumers.
Bring Your Solar To MS. A 9% increase in rates for Mississippi energy customers means they’ll pay an all in $0.139/kWh for electricity. In 18 months, expect rates to rise drastically once again which means that solar companies will see a great reason to go there now and build some solar homes with storage. Absent strong policies, use the technology price declines to enable MS residents to make their energy choices.
Solar Wall Of Shame. You’ve been sending me great solar pictures, keep doing that and make sure to add your logo to it and send it along. Some of you have been sending the worst of the worst as well. Let’s put some sunshine on the bad solar installs, I’ll be aggregating this and work with SEIA and others to make consumers ask the right installation questions. Send your worst of the worst install pictures and we’ll see who gets on the wall of shame.
- Axios: Elon Musk says he may take Tesla private for $85 billion
- SolarWakeup: SolarWakeup Podcast – Jon Carson, Obama’s 2008 National Field Director, Brings Solar To Illinois
- SolarWakeup: Maryland Launches Six-Project Community Solar Pilot Program
- Associated Press: Mississippi Power electricity rates to rise 9 percent
- Think Progress: Coal industry on steady decline under Trump’s leadership
- CleanTechnica: The Solar Panel Art Series Uses Art To Share The Message Of Sustainability
- Utility Dive: As a second wave of state energy storage targets is building, utilities propose new projects
- PV-Tech: France approves 720MW of solar as price falls another 5%
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann